Shiny Website Review: Raffle.it – the online raffle and discounts portal

To be honest I’m not really a great fan of online discount and competition sites, often because they’re laden with requests for personal information, ads for gambling site trials, or the discounts aren’t worth much.

However, when Craig Chuter, founder of the new raffle.it web site, contacted me, I decided to take a look, and I must admit I’m pleasantly impressed.

The ethos of this “virtual raffle” site is to give away decent prizes, for a low ticket price, but to ensure that, even though there’s only one winner for each prize, the discount or offer is worth more than the ticket price.

It’s a “lowest unique ticket” raffle, so instead of the ticket being drawn randomly, the person who has bought the lowest unique raffle ticket wins the prize.

The site has only been “live” for a few weeks, but already has a number of premium sponsors, including Nokia, Fortnum & Mason, and Waterstones,

It should be a win-win situation for both those giving prizes (they get exposure for their products or services) and those entering the raffle (even if they don’t win, they get some kind of discount).

I’ve entered a couple of raffles, and though none have closed yet (not all tickets have been bought), I have received a discount code or offer via email. The system is simple and works well. Tickets currently range in price from free, 50p to £2.

There are also plans to expand the site in the new year to include a social element that could see prizes from members of the public who wish to raffle off their possessions. It will be interesting to see how this will work. I’d imagine that it will still be the big brand names and companies that will draw people in.

Raffle.it – worth a look both pre-Christmas and in the new year.